January's Joy Dare

I am taking the Joy Dare and counting to {an extra} 1,000 Gifts in 2012! Will you join me?

#1 - #93... January's grace-gifts... from the Giver of good gifts, the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

3 things about yourself you are grateful for:
:: I am a daughter of The King.
:: My love of reading.
:: My One Word for 2012: soar!

a gift outside, inside, on a plate:
:: gently falling snow.
:: a warmly heated home.
:: freshly-baked cupcakes.

3 lines you overheard that were graces:
:: "Share lunch with us!"
:: "You look well."
:: "I'll help you."

one gift old, new, and blue:
:: Old friends, doing...
:: New get-togethers.
:: Blue skies on sunny winter days.

something you're reading, you're making, you're seeing:
:: Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.
:: Easy Chicken Cacciatore!
:: Quiet roads.

one thing in your bag, your fridge, your heart:
:: My son's Epipen.
:: Fresh guacamole... on sale!
:: God's peace... which transcends all understanding.

3 graces from people you love:
:: Hubby making me my morning coffee, everyday without fail!
:: Chats with my girl.
:: Hugs from my little man.

light that caught you, a reflection that surprised you, a shadow that fell lovely:

:: Beautiful spectrum of lights from the setting sun.
:: My mom's reflection... wrinkles and silver hair... wisdom and glory.
:: Shadows on snow-covered fields.

a gift in your hand, a gift you walked by, a gift you sat with:
:: Generous financial gift from an aunt.
:: Nicely made beds on a Monday morning.
:: Our family sitting together for a movie night.

a gift that's sour, a gift that's sweet, a gift that's Just. Right.:
:: Dill pickle chips.
:: Cupcake frosting.
:: A fruity kefir smoothie for lunch.

3 yellow things that strike you as fresh mercy:
:: Sunshine peeking through the clouds.
:: The banana I packed in my girl's lunch bag this morning.
:: Bursts of yellow from the euonymus plant colouring my winter garden.

something above you, something below you, something beside you:
:: God, my Heavenly Father!
:: My kitchen... where I can prepare meals to nourish my family.
:: Hubby sleeping soundly beside me.

3 sounds you hear:
:: Sound of cousins playing together.
:: Tapping of computer keys, means I am employed!
:: Music accompanying me as I work! ♥

3 ways you glimpsed the starling grace of God:
:: Two big basketball wins, one for my girl and one for my boy!
:: Lovely lunch at our family's new favourite Asian restaurant.
:: My boy's improved demeanor! ♥

one thing you wore, one thing you gave away, one thing you shared:
:: My warm scarf, on a frigidly cold winter day! Brrrr!
:: Prayers for a girlfriend going through dark days.
:: Everyone in the family doing household chores together.

3 ways you witnessed happiness today:

:: How much my boy has grown.

:: The sun's rays forming a ♥ on my tray... "unfathomable love"!

:: The cake I baked being devoured! :-)

one gift that made you laugh, one gift that made you pray, one gift that made you quiet:
:: My boy's goofiness.
:: Anxiety = need to pray!
:: Alone with my thoughts on what it means to be an ordinary radical.

3 gifts from God's Word:
:: 2 Timothy 1:7
:: Psalm 85:12
:: Colossians 3:23

a grace in the kitchen, a grace in the weather, a grace that might never have been:
:: Dinner already made and it's only 11am!
:: Beautiful snow drifts...
:: A particularly beautiful day! ♥

3 gifts you saw only when you got close-up:

:: Snowflakes sparkling in the sunshine.
:: BBQ sauce on my boy's cheek.

:: Intricacy found in common cilantro leaves.

one thing in the sky, one thing from your memory, one things that's ugly-beautiful:

:: Bright winter sunshine flooding my kitchen!
:: The song The Servant King.
:: Difficult relationships which grow us into better and more beautiful people.

one grace wrinkled, one grace smoothed, one grace unfolded:
:: Clothes coming out of the dryer.
:: Nicely folded laundry.
:: Freshly laundered tablecloth.

3 gifts found in Christ:
:: My hope.
:: My life.
:: My strength.

3 things blue:

:: My warm blue robe.
:: My cozy blue slippers.
:: My fuzzy blue fleece PJs.

one grace borrowed, one grace found, one grace inherited:
:: Grace borrowed: books to read.
:: Grace found: free time!
:: Grace inherited: my grandma's pearl brooch.

a gift before 9am, gift before noon, a gift after dark:
:: Sleeping in on a weekday!
:: My girl stepping in the door, home early from school.
:: Family movie night!

3 gifts that might never have been:
:: A renewed relationship.
:: A revisited interested, my boy learning to play the trombone.
:: A revamped passion for the last, the least, the forgotten, the forsaken.

3 graces found in your friends:
:: Listening ears.
:: Encouraging words.
:: Girl chats.

a song heard, a soft word, where you saw light:
:: Chris Tomlin's I Will Follow, one of my son's faves... and him singing,
:: ♪♫ Who You love, I'll love | How You serve, I'll serve | If this life I lose, I will follow You ♫♪
:: God's grace... molding my boy's heart into one that will follow hard after Him! ♥

3 old things seen new:

:: My boy's trombone.
:: My old penny loafers. :-)
:: An old frame made new with a newly enlarged family portrait.

a gift found on a paper, in a person, in a picture:
:: A gift on paper: a new-to-me benefit reflected on my pay stub!
:: A gift in a person: hands down... my hubby!

:: A gift in a picture: my snow-covered hydrangeas.

Click on the banners below to learn more about counting to 1,000 Gifts...
Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!